


Day Off

by imkerfuffled



Series: 25 Days of Ficlet Prompts [19]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, F/M, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4114882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imkerfuffled/pseuds/imkerfuffled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Laura have a date night, and Natasha babysits the kids. This goes about as well as you'd expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day Off

**Author's Note:**

> "What?" you say "An aou-compliant fic in my Clintasha series? I'm supposed to despise Whedon with every fiber of my being and pretend Clint isn't married and Natasha never liked Bruce!" Well too bad, I ain't about that life. Plus the BARTON KIDS! THEY'RE SO CUTE!

“It’s Aunt Nat!” 

“Aunt Nat! Aunt Nat!” 

“Looklooklookihaveanewtooth!” 

As Lila and Cooper came barreling towards her, Natasha dropped to a crouch and swept them up into a giant bear hug, smiling at their excited babbling. She had barely made it past the farmhouse door before getting ambushed. Laura and Clint, who she’d been talking to before the kids attacked, laughed at her helplessness against their unbridled energy. Even baby Nate, sitting wide-eyed in Clint’s arms, gurgled happily at her. 

“Hey, you little munchkins!” Natasha cried, “My _word,_ look how you’ve grown. You’ll be taller than me before long! Is that your… you silly Lila, that’s not a tooth! That’s a piece of corn!” 

Clint and Laura shared a smile. While Natasha continued laughing with the kids, Laura tipped her head to the door. Clint nodded. 

“Well, Nat, we’d better get going,” he said, “The reservation’s for six, so we don’t wanna be late.” 

Natasha twisted her head around, staring up at the two of them while still managing to play a clapping game with Lila. “Yes, go, shoo!” she said, “I don’t want to see either of you back here till well past your bedtimes, do you hear me?” 

“Yes, Mom,” Clint teased. 

“No, that’s Mom,” Cooper pointed at Laura. 

Clint laughed and reached down to ruffle Cooper’s hair, while Laura fussed over the sleeve on her dress. 

“Um, the milk and baby food are in the fridge,” she said, waving her hands in the direction of the kitchen, “And the overnight diapers are in the back of the diaper drawer, and—” 

“Laura,” Natasha interrupted with a smile, “It’s okay. I remember when Lila was this age. I know what to do.” 

“I know you do,” Laura said, “I just worry how Nate will be, first time he’s been babysat.” 

“Don’t worry. If he gives me any trouble I can always slip sedatives in his bottle.” By this time, Laura was well acquainted with Natasha’s near-deadpan humor, so she just chuckled (and Clint nearly dropped the baby in question from laughing too hard). 

“Now go, get out of here! Have fun!” Natasha shouted. She shooed them out the door before Laura could fuss any more, or Clint could nearly kill his child again. Everyone followed them outside to wave goodbye, and Cooper tugged on Natasha’s elbow. 

“Where are they going again?” he asked her. 

“They’re going out to dinner first, and then they’re going to the movies to make kissy faces in the back row.” Both Cooper and Lila pulled identical faces of disgust. 

Then Clint ran back to the house because he’d just realized he was still holding Nate, and while he was being handed off to Natasha, she had to ask Clint if he was trying to kidnap his own baby. Cooper and Lila handed Natasha a nickel each. 

Clint squinted at them. “Tasha, are you teaching my children how to gamble?” 

The kids nodded enthusiastically. “She bet us five cents you’d try to take Nate with you,” Lila grinned. 

“Remind me again why I let you supervise my children?” Clint asked. 

“Because you love me,” Natasha said, while using two fingers to pull Nate’s face into silly expressions, “Besides, it’s either me or the entire Avengers team. Or Fury.” 

Clint shivered slightly, remembering the first—and last—time they’d let Fury babysit. Both Clint and Laura had half expected to come home to find the house demolished in a shootout and their neighbors arrested for espionage, but instead found the director of SHIELD sitting in a tiny plastic chair with a crayon dinosaur drawing taped to his eye patch, cheerfully being served an invisible sandwich by Cooper. Later, when Clint told Natasha the story, she agreed the latter was more terrifying to imagine. 

Eventually, ten minutes after they were supposed to have left, the Barton adults bundled themselves into the car and drove off, with Natasha’s parting shout loud enough to be heard on the next farm over, to, “Go do unspeakable things at the movie theater!” 

Clint was seriously reconsidering his friendship with Natasha. 

“What does ‘unspeakable things’ mean?” Lila asked. 

“It’s icky grown-up stuff.” 

“Oh,” Lila thought for a moment, “Like taxes?” 

“Yeah. Exactly like taxes.” 

The kids were corralled swiftly inside with bribes of ice cream before dinner, and Natasha sat Nate down in his playpen, which, she was proud to see, still had a ‘Baby Jail’ sign taped to its bars from the last time she’d been at the farm. She planted herself in front of Cooper and Lila and clapped her hands together. 

“Now,” she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, “Who wants to learn how to use giant Nerf guns and stay up way past their bedtimes to ambush Mommy and Daddy when they get home?”


End file.
